Sollecito’s lawyer Giulia Bongiorno confirmed that her client would appeal to Italy’s highest court, and Knox’s lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova said he was “stunned”. The court will publish the reasons for its verdict in 90 days.

For Kercher’s family, who had pushed to have the appeal verdict overturned, the reaction was equally raw.

“We didn’t know what to expect. We are still in shock,” said Stephanie Kercher, Meredith’s sister, after the ruling was read.

If final appeals are heard, neither Knox nor Sollecito, who was banned from leaving Italy, would face arrest or jail time until a final verdict by the highest court.

Knox, who is in the United States and would have to be extradited to serve her sentence, attacked the “overzealous and intransigent prosecution” and “prejudiced and narrow-minded investigation” and said she had been wrongfully prosecuted.

Knox’s lawyers argue that there is only one person responsible for the murder: Ivory Coast-born Rudy Guede, a drifter and burglar who is serving a 16-year sentence for sexually assaulting and stabbing Kercher.